Henry Schein Enters Agreement to Acquire NLS Animal Health
MELVILLE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2006--Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC), the largest provider of healthcare products and services to office-based practitioners in the combined North American and European markets, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire NLS Animal Health, a privately held, full-service veterinary distribution business, based in Owings Mills, Maryland. The transaction, subject to certain closing conditions, is expected to be slightly accretive to Henry Schein's 2006 diluted earnings per share, and to add an estimated $0.02 to $0.04 per share in 2007. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
NLS Animal Health serves approximately 8,000 companion animal clinics in 26 states in the South-Central, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions of the United States, and had 2005 sales of approximately $110 million. The acquisition will add more than 60 sales representatives, with an average tenure in excess of 10 years, to Henry Schein's existing veterinary sales force.
"NLS Animal Health is an ideal strategic and cultural fit with Henry Schein that will increase our presence in the growing U.S. companion-animal veterinary market," said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein. "Our two companies share a focus on customer service and efficient operations, and this acquisition will enhance our reach to veterinary practitioners and our value to manufacturers."
"Henry Schein is pleased to welcome the NLS team under the leadership of Sam Woodside, NLS's President and CEO. Sam became the CEO of NLS in 2002, and has successfully grown the company since that time. In his new role as Vice President and General Manager, Veterinary Division, Sam will be responsible for managing the Henry Schein and NLS veterinary businesses," added Mr. Bergman.
Commenting on today's announcement Mr. Woodside said, "We are proud of our success in serving our veterinary customers and are very excited about the opportunity to join the Henry Schein family of companies. Once the acquisition is complete, we look forward to offering our customers a broader range of products and services, and benefiting by Henry Schein's financial strength and resources."
About NLS Animal Health
NLS Animal Health is a leading full-service, value-added distributor of veterinary products to more than 8,000 companion animal and equine clinics and licensed veterinarians in 26 eastern states and the District of Columbia. The Company's broad selection of inventoried products includes more than 12,000 discrete offerings of veterinary pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, instruments, equipment, supplies and dietary products. NLS markets these products through a combination of outside and inside salespeople and offers next day delivery to its customers.
About Henry Schein
Henry Schein, a Fortune 500(R) company, is recognized for its excellent customer service and highly competitive prices. The Company's four business groups - Dental, Medical, International and Technology - serve over 500,000 customers worldwide, including dental practices and laboratories, physician practices and veterinary clinics, as well as government and other institutions. The Company operates through a centralized and automated distribution network, which provides customers in more than 125 countries with a comprehensive selection of more than 70,000 national and Henry Schein private-brand products in stock, as well as over 100,000 additional products available to our customers as special order items.
Henry Schein also offers a wide range of innovative value-added practice solutions for healthcare professionals, such as ArubA(R), the Company's electronic catalog and ordering system. Its leading practice-management software solutions have been installed in more than 50,000 practices - DENTRIX(R) and Easy Dental(R) for dental practices, and AVImark(R) for veterinary clinics.
Headquartered in Melville, N.Y., Henry Schein employs nearly 11,000 people and has operations in 19 countries. The Company's sales reached a record $4.6 billion in 2005. For more information, visit the Henry Schein Web site at www.henryschein.com.
In accordance with the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Company provides the following cautionary remarks regarding important factors which, among others, could cause future results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, expectations and assumptions expressed or implied herein. All forward-looking statements made by us are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance and achievements, or industry results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These statements are identified by the use of such terms as "may," "could," "expect," "intend," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "anticipate" or other comparable terms. A full discussion of the Company's operations and financial condition, including factors that may affect its business and future prospects, is contained in documents the Company has filed with the SEC and will be contained in all subsequent periodic filings made with the SEC. These documents identify in detail important risk factors that could cause the Company's actual performance to differ materially from current expectations.
Risk factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current and historical results include, but are not limited to: competitive factors; changes in the healthcare industry; changes in government regulations that affect the Company; financial risks associated with the Company's international operations; fluctuations in quarterly earnings; transitional challenges associated with acquisitions; regulatory and litigation risks; the dependence on the Company's continued product development, technical support and successful marketing in the technology segment; the Company's dependence upon sales personnel and key customers; the Company's dependence on its senior management; the Company's dependence on third parties for the manufacture and supply of its products; possible increases in the cost of shipping the Company's products or other service trouble with the Company's third-party shippers; risks from rapid technological change; and risks from potential increases in variable interest rates.
The order in which these factors appear should not be construed to indicate their relative importance or priority. The Company cautions that these factors may not be exhaustive and that many of these factors are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results. The Company undertakes no duty and has no obligation to update forward-looking statements.
CONTACT: Henry Schein, Inc.
Steven Paladino, 631-843-5500
steven.paladino@henryschein.com
or
Susan Vassallo, 631-843-5562
susan.vassallo@henryschein.com
SOURCE: Henry Schein, Inc.